Dollywood’s ‘Lightning Rod’ Is World’s Fastest Wooden Roller Coaster | NBC Nightly News 

1:28 For the people wondering, the whole track IS supposed to sway. If it didn't, the wooden support beams would break. The swaying track relieves the stress on the supports.

Poor reporting. They didn't discuss how Rocky Mountain Construction's wooden coasters are different than traditional wooden coasters, which allows them to pull off such intense elements.

"And 20 seconds of airtime, What does that mean?" THE GPPPP

The GP comments are unbearable

When it comes to most other average topics, the news will explain a lot about it most of the time. But when it comes to roller coasters, they’re completely clueless.

Oh my god..... The GP is real

I rode this today. It was amazing, simply amazing. I have no complaints.

I rode the lighting rod before and it's very fast

Ok. Im a roller coaster fanatic. This one terrified me. Unlike dragster, it feels like you're not going to stay connected after that first hill during the launch. It feels like its going to pry you loose on those sequential hill sections. Fury terrified me in a different way, just by being that high up on that first hill, but this one terrified me all the way. If you're to used to roller coasters, and they dont put that fear in you anymore, try this one out. Seriously. Shits scary, especially when one of the trains had vacant seats due to "lapbar issues" lol.

I live about 45 minutes away from Dollywood and have a season pass this year and I went to ride it and it was SOO FUN! You get such an adrenaline rush!

I still can’t believe I rode this

My dad and brother road this and they LOVED It and then me and my mom are in the little car ride In the background lol

Lightning rod always has a big wait 😂 how I know is because I live 12 mins away from dollywood.

This ride looks amazing! Hopefully if when I go it'll be open haha

Rode it during Thanksgiving when it was cool to Cold and man it s awsome. U are going so fast plus in the dark it s awsome. One of my favorate coasters

Two weekends ago when we went, we got there a little before opening and the wait was already two hours long. Later on in the day it was delayed due to rain. But now I REALLY want to do it

I remember riding this. Most roller coasters start off slow this one launches you lol

rode it. it's good

I rode this yesterday when I went to Dollywood...trust me. I'm anything but fearless. My dad bribed me into this ride. I didnt know it was a record breaking coaster. It was more fun than anything ive ever been on. It is so adrenaline pumping i couldnt believe how fast it was. Definitely recommend. But heads up the second drop is the biggest.

Is it possible to have a crush on a roller coaster

You are technically floating to some degree... *oH My*

We go to the Tennessee Vols football games every season so we have season passes to Dollywood (their amusement and water park) and the lightning rod is the most fun roller coaster EVER but the whole park is so fun and sometimes Dolly walks around the park and u get to see her

I will forever have PTSD from this ride...went with my school choir and band for a overnight trip and this was my first ever rollercoaster. And not to mention, i passed out 5 times on the ride😳

These stories are a thing of beauty ,I hope they will always be relevant.

It's called "Lightning Rod" not "THE Lightning Rod"!!!!

I've went on this wooden coaster 4 times and it's was amazing the drops don't look big in the video but I promise you the well make you scream your head off!!!

I went on this ride the first day it opened and I cried on it

That long of a line, sorry guys have to wait. Someone special is riding.

The lines out the door jeez it’s gonna be like a 5 hr wait

You should do an update on the Lightning Rod, since they changed to a chain lift system. 😢

I went on that and I did not breath

I went on it. It's was amazing.

I rode this a few months ago it was really scary I don’t think I will go on a roaller coaster again

dude my parents and i are going there this year some time in may and gatlinburg can't wait im from canton Ohio yeeeeehaaaaa

This coaster rox.

He should’ve sat in the middle or In tha back like where I was when I rode it in june

I went in it and it is very fast up the big hill

Wow wow love that lightning rod I seen the video that was fast love the video awesome I love it I got to come there and take that ride got my heart beating and I wasn't even on the roller coaster just watching them on the roller coaster got my heart racing I love it Hello Dolly Parton I Will always Love You Yeah I love it it's awesome beautiful I like to live there 💕💕💕💕

lol this ride was down most of the year I heard that its still not running

Closed before I went there 😭

Kristen, Grayson, Graham and I rode this.

I went on it I scared me a lot

Wow 😳 wow 😮 Wow 😮 that's awesome I love that roller coaster I just seen the video wow feels like I'm on the roller just by watching the video I love that beautiful roller coaster 🎢 I. Will. Always Love you. Dolly Parton 💋💋🥰

Just under 2 minutes? Yeah like a minute under 2 minutes.

But where is the wooden coaster? It's a hybrid coaster.

Wow that GP tho

I went on that today boy that is fast the gas on that and the 50s diner

Legit this ride is fast and my friend passed out and I threw up

This ride was really fun but it had a EXTREMELY Long line!

it is the best i have road it like 5 times

I just got of that really!

This didn’t age well as it’s no longer the world’s fastest wooden coaster

So son of beast isn’t a thing

So fast

no disrespect these RMC's are fantastic rides, but hybrid and wooden coaster are two completely different animals

what is GP?

I just rode it wensday

It's kind of weird because it broke the record by 1 MILE! was it worth the down time?

I went on this last year for a school trip to dollywood and my friend forgot to remove her phone out of her shirt and it came flying out and went 10 feet down...let’s just say she wasn’t so happy after that

It’s a wooden shell roller coaster

I rode it before

I've heard it's good but the wait is way too long. I spent an hour and a half waiting for my friend to get off of it and the park had just opened

It’s the fastest wooden rollercoaster by one mile per hour...

They will probably dismantle this in 5 years (or less). But its great and cant wait to try it.

So is this Rm. son of beast the one without the loop

I went on it fun

I want to ride

Technecly this is a Hybrid witch is a mix of wood and steel, so in my book it does not clarify as the fastest WOODEN roller coaster..

I rode the lighting rod the first drop is 20 story's high

I past out on it

except every 5 minutes IT BREAKS DOWN

Outlaw Run's faster brother

I saw it wobble

My soul left my body for a minute on this ride lmao so scary

I rode the lighting rod ! I am not liying!😇

Road this today never again 😅

Lol it aint really anything like a normal wooden coaster

It looks fun, but 165 foot drop: it's a no for me Lol

I saw the coaster bend and shake a little and it acted like it was gonna fall it 1:32 anyone see that?

son of beast still would’ve been faster

Good luck catching it open when you visit Dollywood. It seems like it is down most of the time- not a good investment. If it is not going to work most of the time I think Dollywood needs a refund from RMC.

Lol when people want to go to Dollywood and they don’t even know where it is or anything about it. Hint this coaster breaks down all the time

1:32 THE SUPPORTS MOVED

El toro is probably better

Anyone else seeing the wood structure bending at 1:30?

When I went and I rode it we where in front of the line and they closed it for maintenance and then 10 minutes later it open again they didn't tell us anything why they shut it down for those 10 minutes then when they opened it again we rode it it was awesome and sooo fast but then later in the day we saw some of our friends I asked did you ride it yet they said no somebody had told them that the wood had snapped somewhere on the ride

1:15 I lost it

this was a scary video noting the the lighting rod was the first roller coaster I ever went on

this is not a wooden coaster, you can see the steel track

Dollywood season pass holders for season 2020 got THE ROD alright but it wasn't the Lightning Rod. Guests who purchased their season passes in good faith have been locked out of the park. No refunds just promises.

Absolutely hate this ride! I went to Dollywood in June of 2019 and rode this. It literally was the worst ride ever. The floating in your seat is the worst and made me so sick🤢🤮

Six Flags claims its new ride Goliath is the world’s fastest wooden roller coaster and the one with the biggest drop. Assuming those facts are true, does this mean it’s the best roller coaster thrill this park has to offer? Not quite.I took on Goliath on July 7, 2014, a few weeks after its debut. I got to the park early and was in line at 10:30 a.m., the opening bell, and it was still a 75-minute wait. (For perspective: It was a 150-minute wait when I got off the ride, and I read it was a six-hour wait to experience Diagon Alley at Harry Potter land at Universal Studio in Orlando when it debuted this month).Here are my impressions of the ride itself:The Drop: Although undeniably intimidating with its 180-foot drop, 85-degree angle and tunnel-into-the-ground finish, there are better drops, most notably on Raging Bull, a steel coaster on the other side of the park. Still, this one isn’t for the faint of heart.The Speed: The ride is very fast (74 mph at top speed) and smooth. It doesn’t really feel or sound like a traditional wooden coaster. And since the oval-shaped, twisting-back-on-itself track was shoe-horned in the small footprint that Iron Wolf occupied, the ride is very short.The Inversions: The coaster goes upside down a couple times, once in an attempt at simulating zero gravity. By what this article says,goliath is the fastest wooden coaster and not lightning rod..it hits top speed of 74 mph which is one mph faster than lightning rod which hits 73 mph.NBC you just goofed up bad!!

liar

Under 2 minutes? Ha yeah try one minute! For real, that's how long (or should I say 'short') this ride is. Way too short. Sad too, but it is a real waste of a coaster to not give it the extra 1,500-2,000 feet of track it deserves!

1:31 - the wood is flexing under the weight? Not good.

King da ka is the fastest and littlest

It's not a wooden coaster

I'm Dolly Parton's cousin